European Museum of Modern Art

One of the lesser known museums in Barcelona, the European Museum of Modern Art, Museu Europeu d'Art Modern aka "MEAM"  packs a punch with some of the most skillful artists from our recent generations on display. 

It's an 18th-century palace that's tucked away in an ally sized street next to the Picasso Museum, showcasing 20th- to 21st-century contemporary figurative paintings and sculptures. There are exhibits that cycle through but many are permanent installations.

A statement from the museum website explains it as so: "The MEAM is the new temple of this new religion. The religion of those who believe, in the XXI century, in Art. An Art that is not content with experimentation turned into an end in itself, or the permanent trial without reaching any definite forms, or the cult of noise by noise, or with video montages burdened by boredom. In short, an art that justifies itself as something direct, explicit, categorical, absolute, real, intelligible and brilliant."